Bradamante d'Este (1550 - 1624,
Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
) was an Italian noblewoman.
Life
She and her elder sister
Marfisa were illegitimate daughters of
Francesco d'Este, though were legitimated a few years after their birth by both
pope Gregory XIII and by
Alfonso II d'Este
Alfonso II d'Este (24 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the House of Este.
Biography
He was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France an ...
. In 1575 Bradamante married
Ercole Bevilacqua
Ercole Bevilacqua (1554 – 13 December 1600 in Ferrara) was an Italian nobleman, soldier and statesman.
Life
His parents were Ercole Bevilacqua (1528-1553), count of Maccastorna and Eleonora Pio of Savoy (?-1596). He grew up at the court of car ...
, privy councillor and state and military advisor to
Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara
Alfonso II d'Este (24 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the House of Este.
Biography
He was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France an ...
. In 1590 her husband had to leave Ferrara after Ercole Trotti discovered Bevilacqua's affair with Trotti's wife
Anna Guarini, a court singer. Bradamante remained in Ferrara while her husband settled in
Sassuolo
Sassuolo (; egl, label=Modenese dialect, Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna.
Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town ...
. He only returned to Ferrara in 1598 after Alfonso's death and Ferrara's incorporation into the
Papal States,
[Luciano Chiappini, ''Gli Estensi'', Varese, 1988.] thanks to intercession from cardinal
Bonifazio Bevilacqua Aldobrandini, a relation.
Children
Bradamante and Ercole had twelve children:
*Ernesto (1578-1624), soldier in the service of the Este family, 1st Marquess of Bismantova and count of
Maccastorna
Maccastorna ( Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southeast of Lodi.
Sights include a 13th-14th-century castle and the c. 12th-century ...
*Carlo (1579-1640), monk
*Eleonora (1580-?)
*Francesco (1585-1629), soldier in the service of the Este family, 2nd Marquess of Bismantova and count of Maccastorna
*Lucrezia (1587-1607)
*Alessandro (1588-1606, count of Maccastorna
*Camillo (1590-1593), count of Maccastorna
*Sigismondo (1591-1607),
Knight of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
*Eleonora (1593-?), nun
*Camilla (1595-?)
*Camillo (1597-1645), count of Maccastorna and soldier in the service of the Este family
*Margherita, nun
Note
Bibliography
* Pompeo Litta, ''Famiglie celebri d'Italia. D'Este'', Torino, 1835.
* Luciano Chiappini, ''Gli Estensi'', Varese, 1988.
* Luigi Ughi, ''Dizionario storico degli uomini illustri ferraresi'', Ferrara, 1804.
External links
Love and death in the age of the d'Estes.
{{DEFAULTSORT:dEste, Bradamante
Bradamante
1550 births
1624 deaths
16th-century Italian nobility
16th-century Italian women
Italian Renaissance people
Renaissance women